Mertesacker: We want to make fans proud

Per Mertesacker has spoken ahead of the North London Derby, claiming that the team just want to make the fans proud.

Per is one of the few players I actually believe when he says he loves the team and wants to make us proud. All you have to do is look at that picture of him as a kid in his Arsenal shirt and know how much passion he holds for this club.

Therefore, when he talks about wanting to do us proud on Saturday, it feels me with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

The defender tried to describe the special energy that surrounds a North London Derby.

“It’s a massive game for everyone at this club,” the German told Arsenal Player.

“We need to go there and put a performance on because they’ve been absolutely tremendous this season and are competing for the title as well.

“Therefore it’s going to be a very tight fixture and I think we have to prove ourselves away from home and make our fans proud.

“It’s a different tension. When you go to warm up, you can feel it already, that the fans create that special energy. You feel straight away that there’s something big coming up.

“It’s something you’re looking forward to, playing in these fixtures and games. You can create massive energy when you win and you have to put that in your head before the game to have good tension and the respect to cope with situations in the game you will face.”

Arsenal’s German defender Per Mertesacker (R) applauds the fans at the end of the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Swansea City at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 2, 2016 (GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

As fans we’ll never get to experience what it feels like to walk out onto the pitch against your fiercest rivals. I can imagine the atmosphere must be snapping with electricity like just before a storm.

I’m hoping the team can harness this energy and really make us proud, like Per says. We all deserve a break from this neverending negative spiral and against Spurs would be the perfect time.